A third of this was barrel aged (half wine and half rye) and I am guessing that is where the fruity and raisin taste is coming from. Quite nice for the malt and hop balance in this one. Picked this up at Whole Foods so I may have to go back and grab a couple more bottles.

UPDATE- Read some other reviews and something is off. Seems that some people got the cloudy with and without the yeast - mine was clear with nothing remaining in the bottle at all???

The beer pours a dark brown color with a tannish head. The aroma is full of nuts and toffee. I seem to remember the Hazelnut Brown Nectar from Rogue tasting similar to this beer, but it has been a long time since I have had it. The flavor is full of caramel and toffee malt with some cocoa and nuttyness. There is a cream flavor to the beer as well. Medium to thick mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Nice, but not worth the price.

Taste: Tastes about halfway between a Tripel and a Quad, but with some light wine-like and tart undertones. Banana, fleshy fruit and toast supply the somewhat sweet base, which is only halfway balanced by clove and light spicy notes. Slightly tart from the Pomegranate molasses, with a lingering Chardonnay-like oak finish.

Feel: Moderate carbonation with a sweet finish and just a hint of tartness. Hard to tell if the body is a little too light or a little too chewy. Quite warming.

Overall: Ugh, where to begin? Some of the negative reviews here are ridiculous. People are criticizing this for not being a true Quad, which isn't even a real style. Gulden Draak has great reviews despite having the temerity to call themselves a "Dark Tripel", and that is an established style, by freaking monks no less. Not saying Gulden Draak should be criticized, just that Deschutes should not be dragged through the mud for making a "Light Quad". Anyway, this beer is not a home run because the mouthfeel is a little off and it could use a little more tartness and/or dryness. Despite that, this is a boldly flavored beer that is quite enjoyable. Deschutes - continue to try new things and fuck the naysayers.

Note: Deschutes should not have put a "Best By" date on the beer that is one year out. Really limits multiple bottle purchases and makes it seem as if the beer has no chance at developing further with age.

22oz waxed and capped bottle at about fridge temp poured into a snifter. best before 8/4/12

pours out kind of a deep golden color, IMO way to light for a Quad. nice frothy white head, maybe 2 fingers. decent lacing and retention.

a big yeasty bubblegum smell rules almost the whole aroma. slightly fruity, but definatly no pomegrante, or any presence of barrel aging.

follows the aroma, lots of bubblegummy yeast, phenolic, and lots of fruity esters. but again, doesnt appear to taste barrel aged or brewed with pomegrante.

medium to full in body, adequate carbonation.

overall, pretty disappointed.when i heard deschutes, a very well respected brewery in my eyes, was making a barrel aged quad with pomegrante, i was thinking delicious. but i was disappointed. the untrained eye could fool this for a really strong basic saison. i would avoid this.

A - a amber golden color not much of a head S - not much of a smell here. T- alcohol, pepper, fall spices, there is some sweetness there also but I think I woul expect that due to such a large grain billM - carbonation is very present.Not to familiar with quads but it is decent, just not my favorite style of beer.

Poured into a Chimay Chalice a golden orange. Odd for the style. Nice one finger white head that disapated quicly. Bare minimal lacing. Scent is strong of raisins and grapefruit. Taste is strong of grapes, either a grape flavor from the wine barrels or the raisin flavor that goes with a Quad. There is also a vanilla note from the oak barrels that is noticiable in the after taste. The mouthfeel has a correct body weight for the style, and the carbonation is suprisingly high for it's age and being barrel aged. One quarter of my chalice has gone by and it's still producing a large amount of bubbles.

Overall, it's an odd Quad. The wine barrels are still noticeable. But I can't find any whiskey except for what is questionably a whisky burn way beyond the after taste of my palette.

A - Opaque dull amber with 1.5 finger khaki head with minimal retention and good lacing

S - Banana esters and sweet malt, clove

T - Woo this is a spicy, tangy lady. Most of the action in the side palate with tobacco and clove coming first to mind then sweet caramel banana malty esters to follow. End is sweet as an apricot. Booze never really pokes out to say hello. I'm not refined enough to taste the pomegranate, but do taste citrus, more orange than pomegranate. A bit of rye at the finish and some oak wine notes, the barrels really add a lot. Pretty sour.

I have had this beer before but it still surprised me how light it pours, gold, with just a touch of orange and a very small white head that recedes quickly. The aroma is very sweet, lots of complex fruity belgian yeast esters, lots of berries, overripe strawberries, blueberries, slightly acidic smelling but not in a sour way. Some definite light caramel maltiness in the background and a touch of oaky tannins. The taste is nice, similar to the aroma but slightly more muted, not as bright. Very light bitterness, just enough to balance the high notes of the flavor. The mouthfeel is nice, very smooth, especially for 11%. Overall a friend shared a bottle of this a while back and I decided to pick up a bottle for myself, not quite as good as the top level Belgian quads but a very decent American attempt at the style.

From the waxed bomber into a large wine glass results in a brilliant amber body capped by a thin head that dissipates pretty quickly, small bubbles continue up through the body for the entire glass. Aroma is interesting and unique, I'm getting some clove, fresh bread, yeast (Belgian) astringency like fresh laid linoleum overall appealing. Taste is, well, unexpected, unique, don't think I've ever had a beer quite like this, it's sweet, up front with a nice yeasty back, I guess it's the rye barrels that give it a kind of spicy twang, maybe it's the pomegranate, whatever, It's a unique brew that stands on it's own. 11% doesn't show itself at all, rather refreshing more than heavy. Don't know what to call this beast except tasty, it will be interesting to update this one after a year or so in the cellar.